March 26, 2011
Pet Peeves + Pieces of Conversation: "When She Has to Go, She Has to Go"
At the register, a young mom was trying to match a tiny chip, more like a scab, of grey paint that she taped onto her credit card. She got it at her mother-in-law's, but not from her mother-in-law. "She would have killed me if she knew I picked this off her wall."
The mom's two daughters, ages about 4 and 6, were wearing gold plastic crowns atop messy heads and veil-y pink princess skirts stuffed under their winter jackets. It had been "Dress Up Day" at nursery school.
The 6-year old pulls her mother's coat.
"Mommy, I have to go."
The mother disregards her daughter and continues talking to the paint store salesman about whether he thought the tiny chip had a grey-mint or more cement-tone.
"It would have helped matching it if you had a bigger chip," he says.
"I'm just praying it isn't obvious where I chipped it off. It was in the corner," she says as she tilts the credit card, hoping the specimen will reflect some light so that they can see it better.
"But, Mommy, I really have to go. I really do," says the daughter again. Her hand is now creating a billow of fabric at her crotch.
The mother continues to disregard her daughter and maintains focus on greys.
"Mommy, I have to go," says the daughter again. "I have to go now. Right now."
Unbelievably, the mother continues looking through color wheels.
"Do you think it's more a 'Coastal Fog' or 'Revere Pewter'?"
"It looks to me like 'Silhouette," says the paint salesman.
The mother doesn't skip a beat as her daughter continues stating clear as daylight that SHE HAS TO GO.
"Mommy, I really have to go. Now," she says again.
I ask a different salesman if the store has a ladies room.
"On the left in the back," he says.
"There's a ladies room right over there," I gesture to the mother. "It appears your daughter needs to use it."
"Lilly, do you need to use the bathroom?"
March 25, 2011
RECORD-REVIEW "Talk of the Town"
March 20, 2011
RECORD-REVIEW "Talk of the Town"
There are many silent heroes in Pound Ridge. This week, let’s take a peek at the Pound Ridge Fire Department. Did you know that they have a Junior Corps? The objective is to stimulate interest and train qualified Pound Ridge youngsters for volunteer fire service. The group functions as a support unit to the PRFD both during and after an emergency or disaster with tasks that include establishing a fire line, packing hose, manning a hydrant, recruiting new members of the Junior Corps and taking an active role in Fire Prevention. (Under no circumstances will a Corps member enter a burning building or respond to a Hazardous Materials Call.) Members 15 years of age may not, under any circumstances respond to any alarms. Members 16 years of age may respond to an alarm at any hour of the day, with the exception of school hours. Members who are 17 years of age are considered on probation for the year pursuant to the Department bylaws. The Junior Corps also holds fund raising activities. Last summer, they completed Phase I of a town-wide community service Emergency 911 project. To maintain the response of our emergency services at an optimal level for the benefit of residences and businesses, a list list was compiled of over 500 addresses missing 911 signs. The Junior Corps is in the process of planning Phase 2 of the project. Once the ground is thawed and roads are cleared, they will make sure that property owners are aware of whether their 911 signs pose a potential problem.
"With the exception of the first Monday of the month, the PRFD Junior Corps members attend meetings and drill with us every Monday,” said Peter D'Agostino, Captain, Pound Ridge Fire Dept. and Chairman, Pound Ridge Fire Dept. Junior Corps. “The Juniors are a tremendous help during our annual inspections and parade season. I’m also very proud of the kids that are presently in the corps and have gone through our program." For more information on becoming a proud member of the Pound Ridge Fire Department Junior Corps, contact Captain D’Agostino at 764-5102.
Kindergartners through fifth graders at Pound Ridge Elementary School will be eating their peas and carrots, oranges and apples as they participate in “No Junk Food Week” (March 14-20). The initiative is sponsored by the Westchester County Department of Health to promote healthy eating by kids. Organized by the PRES PTA Health and Safety Committee, students are encouraged to eat five fruits and vegetables a day and to use track charts to record the produce they have consumed by color category. To further motivate the students, School Principal Peter Politi will announce over the school intercom the colorful fruits and vegetables that he has eaten that day. Three cheers to the PRES PTA for supporting initiatives that promote good health and encourage students to ditch the candy, chips, soda and other empty cals.
Speaking of PRES, it was a pleasure talking to the 5th graders about my book, “Pound Ridge Past: Remembrances of Our Townsfolk.” Although it sold out a few years ago, speaking with students is an opportunity to share the recollections of townsfolk from 1920-1970 and tell what life was like here in the 20th century. By sharing stories of our towns’ elders, we keep alive the rich heritage of our beloved Pound Ridge.
Have you heard about the new chanteuse in town? Zoë Jobe, who is 16, recently appeared at the Towne Crier, in Pawling, N.Y., to perform one of her songs solo on guitar. Although she started playing piano at 8, when she was in eighth grade, Matt Vanacoro, her music tech teacher at Fox Lane Middle School decided to put her in his advanced guitar class. “I had never played before, so started teaching myself. I was absolutely awful at first but I guess I caught on,” Zoë told “Talk of the Town.” Her influences are everything from jazz, classic rock, reggae to country. “I've always loved the Towne Crier so it was awesome to get a chance to perform there. It was also great to see so many people who came out to listen. Their support for my music is amazing.” She will soon be in the studio to start recording a few tracks that will eventually be available for all to here. We admire Zoë’s dedication to her art. We also love how her name isn't just "Zoe" but rather “Zoë” with an umlaut. Very cool.
March 13, 2011
RECORD-REVIEW "Talk of the Town"
Sometimes we all need a little push to put some zhush (pronounced: je +oosh) into our lives. Let Sue De Chiara lead the way. In 2009, this wife/mother/former attorney launched the design blog TheZhush.com to share her passion for interior design, art and fashion. In November 2010, the companion retail site (www.zhush.com) was launched and now the whole world is ready for primping. The stylish on-line shop brings smart, affordable, fashionable accessories straight from the pages of design blogs and magazines right to your desktop. And if you place an order, right to your doorstep. We asked the maven of fluff-up for her spring prediction and she got right to the skinny: “Embrace the hot florals- and bold colors-look with a stylish scarf or tote.” If jewelry is your thang, Zhush will help you get boho-chic with stylish wrap, bead and upscale-crystal friendship bracelets, including the celebrity fave, Shashi jewelry. Check out the snazzy Jonathan Adler iPhone covers, too. You’ll also find housewarming and hostess gifts. The ecommerce site is well curated by someone who is passionate about great design and good value. Put some pop in your step. Zhush a little.
Internationally known jazz pianist/composer/arranger, Steinway Artist Pete Malinverni will conduct the Purchase College Soul Voices Choir at their annual spring concert, “Oh Freedom!” on Thursday, March 24 at 7:00 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center. The group will perform songs from the American civil rights movement in celebration of the power of music to move people to action. Selections will include spirituals and protest songs as well as popular soul works by Sly Stone and Stevie Wonder. Pete, who serves on the Jazz Studies faculty of Purchase College School of the Arts Conservatory of Music, is also the pianist/conductor at the Westchester Reform Synagogue in Scarsdale (and for 18 years, was music director of the Devoe Street Baptist Church Gospel Choir in Brooklyn). He has performed at leading clubs, festivals and concert halls worldwide—including Carnegie Recital Hall—and his 12 albums consistently received high accolades and heavy airplay (See his home page at www.petemalinverni.com/biography.aspx). Tix to the Purchase gig are $22.50 and $15 for seniors. Call the Purchase Performing Arts box office at 914-251-6200 or go to www.artscenter.org.
And now for the nature news segment of our broadcast: Several “Talk of the Town” readers have called in bobcat sightings. On Autumn Ridge Road: “We live near the Ward Pound Ridge Reservation, so it's probably not too surprising but it was very surprising to us! It happened on a Sunday morning around 7:30 a.m. as we were sitting at the breakfast table. We thought that this information should be disseminated since many on our road, and those on nearby roads, have outdoor pets.” Then clear over on the other side of town on Old Mill River Road, Margery Schiffman and Chuck Dorris (founders of the Conant Valley Jam Company) reported that they saw in their front yard, “ … one big old bobcat, alias a Canadian Lynx, right here in Pound Ridge, 41 miles from New York City.”
There are three varieties of lynx cats: Canadian, Eurasian (living in Turkestan and Central Asia), and Iberian (living in the Mediterranean region). Our variety, the Pound Ridge Canadian lynx, has home ranges which vary from 8 to 800 square kilometers, depending on the animal's gender, season, abundance of prey, and the density of lynx population. In the wild, lynx cats disperse extremely long distances, when snowshoe hare population declines or just to establish new home ranges. Males are not aggressive; they prefer mutual avoidance. Young lynxes are usually transient or dispersing, searching for unoccupied habitat. With its dense fur and wide paws, lynx is highly adapted to deep snow. They locate food by sight and wait in ambush, and then stalk to prey as closely as is possible before pouncing with one or two bounds. Capture success averages 20-60%, depending on snow condition, and the distance between the lynx and the prey. Lynxes need at least one hare a day. (In the Shiffman-Doris case, they are down one squirrel on their property.) Nearly as long as their 40-inch cast iron garden bench, Chuck wrote, “The lynx in our yard was one BIG cat! It could easily have snapped up a small dog in a single bite. I didn't get shots of it catching the squirrel, because the action was out of sight behind a building, but those guys were pretty wild. Yikes, that was a BIG cat.”
March 4, 2011
RECORD-REVIEW "Talk of the Town"
It’s all good. Winter is waning. The days are getting longer. Crocii are popping under fields where the snow has cleared, and dreams that really did come true were celebrated with a golden statue named Oscar at last Sunday night’s 83rd Academy Awards ceremony. Keeping the good vibes alive is Dana McCorvie, founder of www.nobluesnews.org , a non-profit website designed simply to make you smile and offer a mini-mental vacance to focus on something beautiful in the world—be it loving acts of kindness, great art, silly jokes, or inspiring people and places. The site is all about the yin and yang of life, seeing the sunny-side-up, and keeping on the rose-colored glasses through all that is cast our way. Dana (who is married to North Star entrepreneur/restaurateur Phil Maniatty) was in marketing for 25 years and created new products for some of the largest companies in the world. With this experience, she clearly knows how to give things a positive spin.
“We believe people are yearning for a destination whose promise is to remind them that there is, indeed, heart-warming good and love,” Dana said. “We can all offer this to people we encounter in our own lives everyday. That is our hope at NoBluesNews.com: to start a positive epidemic.” You’ll get goose bumps reading one of this week’s stories: “Schwinge (of Duke’s Auction House) says Ming = Cha-Ching!” The clip is about a 79-year old man in Dorchester, England who discovers that ‘that thing on the shelf’ is actually a 600-year old Ming moon flask worth $1.6 million US dollars. And “The Little Black Bag Returns From Paris With Love” … about a Parisian taxi driver with a heart of gold. Go to NoBluesNews. The website will pull at your heartstrings. You’ll believe in righteousness and exuberance. You’ll laugh. You’ll smile. You’ll feel enlightened and giddy. You’ll rediscover that happiness is contagious. Pass it on.
Pound Ridge seniors, get out your datebooks. Neighbor-to-Neighbor (N2N) has a slew of upcoming events you’ll want to partake in. March 10: trip to Bruce Museum and lunch in Greenwich (Fun/interesting!); March 17: Annual St. Patrick’s Day Luncheon at Conant Hall sponsored by N2N and the Pound Ridge Lions Club (Delish! Don’t miss it!) March 23: Bus trip to the American Museum of Natural History in NYC (The Butterfly Conservatory awaits you!) and on March 27: Seniors Breakfast sponsored by the Pound Ridge Business Association (Lots of flipping johnnycakes by people in high places. More details to follow, but save your appetite for this special flapjack fest in the Hamlet.) To get the skinny on N2N events, call Louise Paolicelli at the Recreation Department (764-8201) or dash an email to prseniors@townofpoundridge.com. Registration forms for the events are available on the town web site at www.Townofpoundridge.com under the “Neighbor to Neighbor and Senior Programs” tab on the left side of the screen.
Wrigley Watch: Dog owner Sue Benjamin reports that it is now 10 weeks since her beautiful 9-year-old medium-size Welsh Springer Spaniel ran away from his home in Bedford. “It’s been more than 68 days, and instead of giving up, more people than ever are on the team. Friends and neighbors from Bedford, Pound Ridge and Stamford are offering to help at all hours of the day and night in the search to find Wrigley. My family and I are truly grateful for everyone’s help.” Along with sightings in the Chestnut Hill Road area of North Stamford, there are possible signs (dead birds, food that has been left out has been eaten at night) that Wrigley is still out there. He is friendly but shy, easily spooked and responds to food and kindness. Sue emphasizes not to attempt to catch or chase him. If you see Wrigley, please immediately call her at 914-234-9534 (home) or 914-261-1164 (cell). “We rely on the community to continue helping us locate Wrigley and get him home.” Keep Sue’s telephone numbers on a post-it on your dashboard. Send prayers and wishes for Wrigley’s safe return.
Pound Ridge Elementary School teacher and prolific artist, David Llanos, will have nearly 100 of his drawings, paintings and sculptures shown at a solo exhibit, entitled “Visions Everyday” at Pound Ridge Library. “‘Visions Everyday’ is my mantra,” David said. “It is a reminder to me that in every object, every person, every cloud, and every experience there is beauty to be found.” This talented teacher has been inspiring our children in PRES art rooms since 1997. The exhibit at the library will run through April 2, but you won’t want to miss the reception on Saturday, March 5 from 3-5 p.m. The inimitable Al Hirschhorn, former PRES music teacher, will accompany the gathering with a selection of jazz and classical music. We are grateful to Pound Ridge Elementary School for their excellence of education, and to all of their teachers—past and present—who bring so much to our community and our children.